Every year, members on leaves of one term or one year must notify the DOE of their intent for the upcoming school year on or about May 15. You will receive an email from the DOE with a request to submit your intent with that year's specific deadline. 

If you received an email notification requiring that you submit an intention, you must log in to SOLAS and submit your intention to either:

• Return to work
• Extend your current leave
• Apply for a new leave type
• Resign
• Retire

Please note that all communication will be sent to your DOE email address. If you do not notify the DOE about your plans to return or apply for a leave extension by the deadline, you will be deemed voluntarily resigned from your position.

Members whose leaves are less than one term are not required to submit their intent. The following leave types are also not required to submit an intent: 

• Workers' Compensation
• Sabbaticals
• Line of Duty
• Union
• Military

If you have checked your DOE email and did not receive an email from SOLAS, you are not currently required to participate. For further questions, please reach out to your payroll secretary. 

If you plan to: 

Return to service:

• Notify your principal or supervisor of your impending return.

Request an extension of your leave or request a new leave of absence:

• You must submit a leave application online using SOLAS.
• You must submit all supporting documentation within 21 days of the date of application. All leave-of-absence applications are subject to review for eligibility and completeness. HR Connect – Medical, Leaves & Records Administration will review your application and will send a determination to your DOE email address.

Resign from service:

• Contact the UFT to discuss the implications of resigning.
• You should notify your principal or supervisor in writing of your intent to resign from your position at the DOE 30 days prior to your resignation date. ·
• Your letter of resignation should include your name, file/EIS number, title, effective date of resignation and your signature.
• Contact your payroll secretary for information on any final entitlements.

Retire:

• Contact the UFT for a pension consultation.
• Contact your retirement system to confirm your retirement date.
• Information on the retirement process can be found on the HR Connect Portal. Once you have logged in with your DOE/Outlook user ID and password, search for “retirement.”
• We recommend you notify your principal or supervisor in writing of your intent to retire from your position at the DOE.
• Contact your payroll secretary for information on any final entitlements.

You may change your intent before the final deadline. After that, you must submit a request for an exception and provide evidence of a material change or extenuating circumstance. You must make this request as soon as possible.  

No, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment equivalent to your regular compensation from the UFT Welfare Fund at the end of your six-week UFT parental leave instead.

If you are not eligible for parental leave because you have not been employed by the DOE for 12 months and in active service for 12 months prior to your child's birth, you are able to take a traditional maternity leave. There is no minimum service requirement to be eligible for maternity leave. 

Maternity leave begins the day your child is born. You can use up to six weeks of your accumulated CAR days (sick days) for a non-cesarean delivery or eight weeks for a cesarean delivery. If you don't have enough CAR days in your bank, you may submit a request to borrow up to 20 additional sick days or, in some cases, use a grace period. 

You will continue to be paid and maintain your health benefits during your leave as long your absences are covered by CAR days, borrowed days or a grace period. Please note that members will not be paid beyond the six to eight weeks after giving birth. 

Your payroll secretary can tell you how many CAR days you have accumulated or your pay stub also contains that information, which can be found on the DOE payroll portal.  You would apply for a maternity leave online through SOLAS. 

If you have been working for the DOE for more than 12 months, but were not in active status in the past year, you would also be eligible for an unpaid child care leave at the conclusion of your maternity leave. 

Please contact a UFT leaves specialist before applying to discuss your options at 212-331-6311. 

See a comparison between maternity and parental leaves for additional guidance. 

During a per-session summer activity, pedagogues and paraprofessionals accrue one sick day for each month of service. If you don't take a sick day in July, you can take two in August. One sick day taken during a per-session summer activity can be self-treated, but the second day must have a doctor's note.

Pedagogical employees may donate CAR days to another employee only if the recipient has a catastrophic sickness. The recipient does not have to be a pedagogical employee and may belong to a different payroll bank. However, DOE employees cannot donate or receive accrued time to or from an employee at another NYC agency.

• For every 2 sick days/CAR days donated, the recipient receives 1 day of leave.
• The donor cannot have a balance of more than 180 days or less than 50 days. 
• The recipient must have exhausted all earned sick leave and optional borrowed time.

To donate CAR days: 

1. Use the DOE's CAR transfer form.
2. Complete the form, following the instructions and submit it to your payroll secretary or timekeeper. 
3. Forms can be faxed to DOE payroll at 718-935-5561 - fax is the preferred method. You can send the forms via email to payrollinquiry [at] schools [dot] nyc [dot] gov (payrollinquiry[at]schools[dot]nyc[dot]gov) only if you do not have access to a fax. Please note that processing of the forms submitted via email may experience a considerable delay. 

It depends on the type of ceremony, the location and your job title: 

Pedagogues and paraprofessionals:

• One day with principal’s or supervisor’s permission to attend their graduation or that of a parent, child, step-child, spouse or registered domestic partner;
• Graduation must involve a ceremony marking the award of a diploma or degree (actual certificate) by a recognized school or institution of higher learning. This also includes graduation ceremonies that are held virtually;
• If graduation is in a remote location, the superintendent can grant approval for up to an additional two days;
• Kindergarten, pre-K, 5th and 6^th grades are excluded;
• If elementary school goes up to the 8^th grade and students go from there to high school, then this is allowed in lieu of the usual junior high school graduation from the ninth grade;
• Upon return to work, download and complete the OP201 form.

 
Administrative titles (nurses, therapists):

• One day for employee to receive a degree form a college or university;
• One day to attend the graduation of a child or grandchild from kindergarten, elementary school, intermediate school, junior high school, high school or college or to attend the college graduation of a spouse or domestic partner;
• Upon return to work, download and complete the PD19 form.

Births over the summer are subject to the same time frame as births during the school year. A UFT member can use days from their CAR bank for any work days once the new school year begins up to six weeks after birth (or eight weeks following a C-section), and the six weeks of parental leave must be used within 12 weeks (or 14 weeks following a C-section) after the date of birth. 

See more information about UFT parental leave »

Members with at least one year of service, or paraprofessionals with at least two years of service, may apply for an unpaid child care leave immediately following a UFT parental leave. The child care leave can extend to the August following the fourth birthday of their youngest child, but the parent must work for 12 months (they need not be consecutive) after they return from child care leave. If they do not return to work for this duration, they will be required to pay back the UFT parental leave benefit. 

One of the following must be submitted by the birth parent or the partner of a birth parent: 

• a copy of your child's birth certificate
• a copy of your child's footprints or a letter from the doctor or hospital, on official letterhead, stating the child's birth date, parent names, and type of delivery. 

For adoption or foster care, you must submit official adoption or foster paperwork. 

To avoid delays, you may wish to choose options available before the birth certificate arrives so you can submit your documentation as soon as possible. 

Supporting documentation may be uploaded directly to SOLAS or sent via email to: SOLASleavesfax [at] schools [dot] nyc [dot] gov (SOLASleavesfax[at]schools[dot]nyc[dot]gov). 

Read more about UFT parental leave »

Following a title change (e.g., from paraprofessional to teacher or another role), employees may transfer days from their old bank to their new bank by filling out a CAR Transfer Request form . The school payroll secretary processes the form to transfer days to your new bank.